Man City vs Sheffield United LIVE commentary: Pep Guardiola’s side eyeing treble as Blades aim to pull off huge shock in FA Cup semi-final

Manchester City face Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley on Saturday, live on talkSPORT.

City will be aiming to reach the final as they eye a possible treble with the gap closing to Arsenal in the Premier League and a place in the Champions League last four secured. 

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Although, Pep Guardiola’s side have been knocked out at this stage for the last three seasons and that is a stat that will please the Blades. 

The Championship side are closing in on automatic promotion to the top-flight this season and will now be able to test themselves against the best in the business. 

If Paul Heckingbottom’s men do come out on top in London, it will go down as one of the biggest upsets in the FA Cup and continue Man City’s semi-final curse. 

Man City vs Sheffield United: talkSPORT coverage 

This FA Cup semi-final will take place on Saturday, April 22. 

Kick-off at Wembley is scheduled for 4:45pm. 

talkSPORT will have live coverage of the game presented by Adrian Durham. 

Commentary will then come from Jim Proudfoot and former Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce. 

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

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Man City vs Sheffield United: Team news 

Nathan Ake was substituted with an injury against Bayern Munich on Wednesday and will have a scan on his hamstring ahead of the game. 

However, he is unlikely to be in contention and could even miss the Citizens’ showdown with Arsenal next week.

But Ake is the only doubt for the clash for City with Erling Haaland out to build on his hat-trick against Burnley in the quarter-finals. 

As for Sheffield United, James McAtee and Tommy Doyle are both unable to feature as they are on loan from the Citizens. 

However, both players have vowed to be in attendance at Wembley in support of their teammates as they aim for a giant killing. 

Plus, Enda Stevens, Ben Osborn, Rhys Norrington-Davies, Rhian Brewster and Jack O’Connell will be absent for the Blades.

Anel Ahmedhodzic could also miss out with his partner waiting to give birth to their first child.

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Man City vs Sheffield United: What has been said? 

Sheffield United boss Heckingbottom says his side are going to ‘give it a real go’ against Man City at Wembley. 

He said, “We’ve done all we can in the league and now we can forget about that and focus on another really big game.

“If we achieve what we want to achieve in the league, then this is going to be the kind of test we are facing every single week so why not try and test ourselves now? We’re looking forward to it and it’s all we are thinking about for the moment.

“Listen, we are not daft, we know we have to focus on playing one of the best teams in the world. We’re not being silly about it.

“We know we have to have them [City] having an off day and for us to be at our very best, maybe beyond that, to do it.

“But we’re going to relish it, give it a real go and, before then, try to prepare the very best we can.”

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Man City vs Sheffield United: Match facts 

• Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick in Man City’s 6-0 quarter-final win against Burnley, making him the first-ever player to score an FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League hat-trick in the same campaign. This would be his first appearance at Wembley Stadium, with Ronny Johnsen the last Norwegian player to net for a Football League club at the ground (with Manchester United in the 1997 Community Shield).
• No team has had more different goalscorers in the FA Cup this season than Sheffield United (10, excluding own goals), with Oli McBurnie the only player to score more than once for the Blades so far.
• Man City’s Phil Foden has been involved in seven goals in his last six FA Cup appearances (4 goals, 3 assists). Overall in the competition, Foden has won 16 of his 19 games, with his only three defeats coming in his three appearances at Wembley Stadium.
• Sheffield United are winless in their last six competitive matches at Wembley Stadium (D1 L5) since winning their first ever match at the ground in the 1925 FA Cup final (1-0 vs Cardiff).
• Manchester City have lost four of their last five games at Wembley Stadium (W1), as many as they had in their first 18 at the ground since its reopening in 2007 (W11 D3).
• Sheffield United beat Premier League opposition (Spurs) in the fifth round of the FA Cup this season, ending a run of five consecutive defeats against top-flight sides in the competition. They last eliminated multiple top tier opponents in a single campaign in 2013-14 (Aston Villa and Fulham).
• Manchester City have won all four of their FA Cup games this season by an aggregate score of 14-0. The last team to reach the FA Cup final without conceding a goal en route were Everton in 1965-66.
• Sheffield United are looking to reach the FA Cup final for the first time since 1936. The Blades have lost five semi-finals in that time, most recently a 5-3 loss to Hull City in 2013-14.
• Manchester City are featuring in the FA Cup semi-finals for the sixth time in the last seven seasons and for the fifth consecutive campaign. However, they’ve lost four of their five ties in this time, and could become the first side in FA Cup history to lose a semi-final in four consecutive campaigns.
• Top-flight clubs have won the last 13 FA Cup semi-final ties against sides from a lower division, since Sunderland beat Norwich 1-0 at Hillsborough in the 1991-92 campaign.
• Since losing 1-0 against Wigan in the FA Cup in February 2018, Manchester City have won their last 21 domestic cup ties against sides from a lower division. They’ve scored 78 goals in this run, conceding just 11 in return.
• Sheffield United have won all four of their FA Cup ties against Manchester City, most recently a 2-1 fourth round victory in the 2007-08 campaign.